Parents who attended a Monday session on a new set of five-year goals for the Boulder Valley School District emphasized the need for safe and welcoming schools, more money for schools and more education for parents on how to help their children.

The meeting, held in Spanish at Intercambio in Boulder, was the first of five community meetings to gather feedback on a draft version of the district's vision, mission and goals for the next five years.

"This work will guide the planning for the district for the next several years," said Superintendent Bruce Messinger. "Having community input is really important to all of us."

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The draft vision and goal statements were developed through a professionally facilitated community consensus process that began in November. The process began with 112 community members, students, educators and school board members participating in a 12-hour community listening session.

Goals include partnering with parents and students "to develop a personalized education program that will address the unique learning needs of each student" and providing "a safe and inclusive environment for students, their families, and staff."

Other goals address increasing parent and community involvement, attracting the best employees and ensuring that "race, social economic status, learning needs and risk factors will not be barriers to student success."

At Monday's meeting, parents urged the district to provide more resources to bilingual schools and to schools in general.

Mari Cruz Flores, a parent at Lafayette's Sanchez Elementary, said it's difficult for students when their English-as-a-second-language teachers don't speak Spanish. She asked for more bilingual teachers.

"It's frustrating for kids to be in school and not have access to the language," she said through a translator. "They can miss years of learning. I would like you to take us into consideration when making a budget."

Several parents said they like the goal to increase parent and community involvement and would even like to see the district make volunteering in schools a requirement for parents.

Guillermina Perez, a parent at Boulder's Columbine Elementary, said she and others at the school have tried for years to encourage more parents to participate in the classroom and in school activities.

"It's a hard problem to solve," she said.

Bullying also was raised as a concern, with parents noting that some schools seem to handle the issue better than others.

"Bullying is a big issue," Analilia Lujan, a parent at Boulder's University Hill Elementary, said through a translator. "I would like it completely eradicated."

She attended the meeting, she said, "to learn and to see if there's anything we can do to help our Latino kids have the same opportunities as other kids."

Along with community meetings, the district also is asking for feedback through an online survey. The survey is available at the "BVSD Listens" website, bvsdlistens.com.

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